DISCLAIMER: Though it fascinates me to no end, I do not claim ownership over any of J.R.R. Tolkien's work.

Chapter One: Autumns That There Were

25 September, 1418 S.R.

Hobbiton

It was warm, unusually so for late September in Hobbiton. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue, the sun bright and welcoming with only an occasional puff of cloud to float across it. Nearly every lass and lad in the village was enjoying this unexpected burst of summer-like weather. They ran about in small groups, the girls picking flowers and chattering happily as the boys played various loud and rowdy games. The older hobbits were assembled on their porches, discussing the events of the day, drinking tea and eating enough food to sustain an army.

One of the hobbit-lasses had found a comfortable spot for herself in a grassy area under the shade of a wide oak tree, and she lay underneath it with her arms crossed behind her head, eyes closed. She looked to be just out of her tweens, and had long honey-colored hair arranged in two braids down her shoulders. She wore a simple green dress that blended well with the thick green grass in which she was laying. Perhaps she was asleep, or so comfortable she did not wish to look up, but the girl did not acknowledge the soft footsteps of an approaching hobbit until they were inches away from her ear.

Opening one eye to look calmly up at the figure above her, Marigold Gamgee grinned and pulled herself up on her elbows, shaking her head slightly to remove any traces of sleep.

"Hullo there, Rosie," she said in her loud but musical voice, "where have you been hiding this fine morning?"

The other girl rolled her eyes with a smile before making herself comfortable on the ground beside Marigold. "I, unlike you, actually have things around the house that need doing, and I do them before going outside to frolic in the grass and whatnot."

Marigold dismissed her friend's words with a wave of a hand. "So do I, but I also have sisters to help me out. And ever since Sam left..." at this she glared in the vague direction of Buckland and Crickhollow, "the hole has been less than cheerful, between the Gaffer's muttering about 'lads that have need for crossing rivers as much as taters have need for legs' and May's constant mooning over the Chubb boy." Marigold, to herself, though that Bolco Chubb was not worth anyone's mooning.

Rosie shook her curly head with the smallest of laughs, as she knew a fair lot of what went on in her best friend's golden head. "Goldie, Sam's only been gone for two days, you surely can't be missing him that sorely."

"Ah, but it's a lot more fun when he's around," said Marigold knowingly, "And don't deny that you're missing him quite 'sorely' yourself." The bright red cheeks of Rose were enough to confirm her statement. Goldie laughed, again, and gave her friend's blue skirt a tug, signifying that she should join her on the ground. As Rosie made herself comfortable on the grass, Marigold continued talking.

"What I sure don't understand is why Frodo Baggins would go off and sell Bag End- Bag End, of all places!- to hobbits like the Sackville-Bagginses. I know Ponto Baggins wouldn't have bought it- Lily and Angelica would never agree to leave their hole- but Peony and Milo, or Daisy and Griffin, could surely have afforded it at the price Frodo gave the S.-B.'s.-There's something about that family, if you catch my meaning."

Rosie ran a thoughtful hand through her dark curls, and shrugged, shaking her head rather sadly. "Goldie, if I knew, I'd tell you. We can be sure he didn't run out of money- why, last time your Gaffer came to visit my dad he told him all about that new gardening equipment Frodo had bought for him some time before he left!"

Her companion sighed and lay back down on the grass, staring angrily up at what she could see of the bright blue sky through the branches of the oak tree. "I reckon I agree with you, but the Gaffer's not going to need any gardening equipment, not with Sam gone and Lotho and Lobelia presiding over Bag End," she muttered under her breath. Marigold disliked change of any sort, and she felt that the changes coming over the Westfarthing were going to be more than they'd bargained for.

Before Rose could comment on her friend's statement, the two hobbitesses heard the rumbling of a cart, coming nearer by way of the Bywater Road. Marigold sat up again, half-hoping that the cart would belong to Gandalf, the old wizard she rather suspected had been involved in the departure of her brother and the Master of Bag End. Marigold had always been the most curious member of the Gamgee family, as well as the most short-tempered, and she was already planning to give Gandalf a stern hobbit talking-to, demanding of him to bring everyone back to their rightful place.

Rosie and Marigold had not been the only ones to notice the sound of the cart- it seemed to be a large one, and every Hobbiton hobbit was starving for new things to discuss. The topic of the "mad Bagginses" was, of course, one that they could never truly exhaust, but every hobbit needs a break every few hours or so.

Instead of Gandalf, or anyone that could give Marigold the opportunity to vent her frustration, the cart was being driven by an unfamiliar Big Man. He looked rather satisfied, moving at a leisurely pace with a pipe in his mouth, and his cart was full of crates- whether empty or full, they could not tell. His face was not friendly, and as he passed by each group of hobbits, he seemed to smirk at them. Marigold stiffened, and looked after the strange man with apprehension as he made for Bagshot Row and further on, Bag End.

Turning to Rosie Cotton the golden-haired hobbitess frowned thoughtfully. "I sure don't like the look of things, Rosie. I don't like the look of them at all."

A/N: Hello all, and thank you so much for reading! This is my first attempt at actually posting a LOTR story of mine, based on a concept I have always found interesting- what, exactly, went on in the Shire as the Fellowship travelled? How did the families of the four hobbits react to their sudden disappearance? I have tried to stick to as much knowledge as we have of the Shire and it's inhabitants, but a lot of it will be, of course, pure guesswork and imagination. I welcome any reviews, and any suggestions you may have! Thanks so much!